Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has asked a judge to stop potential witnesses speaking out about the allegations against him.
The 54-year-old rapper – who was arrested in September over charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution, and is also facing a number of civil lawsuits – and his legal team filed a motion on Sunday (03.11.24) asking the court to expedite the process of responding to the request to restrict statements made outside of court, citing one potential witness in particular.
According to TMZ, a man named Courtney Burgess has given multiple interviews in recent days, including speaking to them with his lawyer, Ariel Mitchell, on Thursday (31.10.24), and the ‘I’ll Be Missing You’ hitmaker insisted his statements have been untrue and defamatory.
Ariel told TMZ Courtney had been called to testify because he has, or has seen, salacious videos of the disgraced music mogul and his celebrity friends but Combs’ lawyers specifically cited information in articles from another outlet that erroneously stated the rapper’s so-called ‘Freak Offs’ involved “men” and “parties”.
According to the legal documents, the government has been investigating the rapper for almost a year and know the alleged Freak Offs didn’t involve men, minors, or parties, and by not treating such claims as an “extortion scam”, online conspiracies are being further fuelled and the lawyers argued it is growing impossible for their client to receive a fair trial as a result.
Combs has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing since he was arrested on a federal indictment in September.
He is being held without bail after pleading not guilty.
And a few weeks ago, he insisted the “truth will prevail” after six new civil lawsuits were filed, with four including male accusers and one alleged victim stating he was 16 years old when he was invited to one of Combs’ parties in 1998.
In a statement, the musician’s lawyers said: “The press conference and 1-800 number that preceded today’s barrage of filings were clear attempts to garner publicity.
“Mr Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts, their legal defenses, and the integrity of the judicial process.
“In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman.”
